Nintendo Wii to screen US air travellers

Homeland Security using the Wii Fit Balance Board in research

Travellers to the US may soon have to bring their Nintendo Wii skills to bear, after it emerged that American authorities are using the games console as part of airport security screening.

More specifically, the Wii Fit Balance Board is part of a $20 million (£12.6 million) project aimed at finding better technologies for screening passengers boarding flights.

First-level check

The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) researchers are looking at the board to see if its sensors can automatically weed out anyone who's overly nervous or fidgety, the idea being that they then are subject to further screening, presumably involving human staff.

Before any of that becomes of practical use, however, the team still has to determine if being (physically) shifty actually means anything when it comes to security.

Work in Progress

After all, if the Balance Board merely singles out people with, well, bad balance, it will only tell the Homeland Security functionaries that they are likely to be rubbish at virtual yoga.